Illuminated indicating device



Feb. 23, 1937. s, VAN BLOEM 2,071,777

ILLUMINATED INDICATING DEVICE Filed Sept. 25, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 23, 1937 UNITED s'm'riazs PATENT orrlcr.

ILLUMINATED INDICATING DEVICE Application September 25, 1935, Serial No. 41,980

8 Claims. (Cl. 240-2.!)

The present invention relates to improvements in an indicating or display device of the type employing a transparent or translucent panel having roughened face areas to permit escape of rays through a faceof the panel and from luminous configurations on the panel, More particularly the invention relates to improvements in a clock embodying such a panel as a dial.

Important'objects of the invention are, to provide such a device of improved design, and to provide a device in the form of a clock assembly with an improved arrangement of parts and improved securing connections between the parts.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a view, partly in front elevation and partly in section, of a; clock embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 a section approximately on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 a section approximately on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, the upper portion of the clock being broken away;

Fig. 5 a bottom plan view of the clock, with the bottom closure plate partly broken away to disclose structure within the base;

Fig. 6 a detail perspective view of a lower 30 portion of one of the lamp-enclosing columns;

Fig. '7 an enlarged detail sectional view on the line l-'I of Fig. 5, with the column and the dial panel omitted; and

Fig. 8 a detail sectional plan view, the section 35 being taken approximately on the line 8-8 of 45 extends between the columns and is supported with its opposite edges exposed to the interior of the columns through the slots 4 for reception of illumination from the lamps. Back of the 0 center of the dial panel there is a casing 6 which encloses an electric clock motor, not shown. Clock hands I are disposed in front of the panel, and the clock motor is operatively connected to the hands through a central aperture in the 55 panel.

The clock base I comprises a flat, hollow body which may be a metaldie casting. In the present instance the base is of elongated. rectangular contour, but its shape may be varied. It forms a flat upper wall 8 and an integral continuous contour flange 9 depending therefrom. Near each end said upper wall has an integral, upstanding flange III of annular form. These flanges and the portion of the upper wall of the base encompassed thereby form cup-like recesses to receive the lower ends of the columns 2. At its under side the base has small rubber feet H. The feet have shank portions fitted into sockets formed in enlarged portions of the flange 9 located at the corners of the base. The feet support the base slightly elevated to admit air for ventilating the lamps 3, as will be explained hereinafter. A flat metal closure plate i2 extends across the open under side of the base body. The flange 9 is rabbeted at its lower edge to form a horizontal seat I! for said plate above the lower edge of the flange. When the plate is upon said seat the edges of the plate are covered by the surrounding flange 9 and the latter aflords abutments for said edges to hold the plate against lateral displacement in any direction. At its corners'the plate is cut away for admission of air into the base. The plate is removably held to its seat i3 by means which will be described hereinafter. The base body has integral reinforcing ribs I4 depending from the upper wall of the base and extending along and across the interior of the base. Ifdesired, the rabbeting of the lower edge of flange 9 may be dispensed with and the closure plate seated against said ribs.

Each column 2 is a hollow cylindrical body closed at its upper end and open at its lower end. Its closed upper end may bear a small sphere, as shown, or other ornament. The slot 4 opens through the lower edge of the column and extends to a point near the upper end of the column. The lower end portion of the column flts snugly within the base flange I 0. Between the lower end of the column and the base there is a releasable securing connection operable only from the interior of the base. Directly within the flange it the wall 8 of the base has arcuate apertures i5. In the present instance there are three of said apertures equally spaced around the flange. The lower end of the column bears three integral, hook-like anchoring tongues cess ll opening laterally within the base. All of said recesses open in the same direction around the column,-and the edge I 8 forming the lower side of each recess slopes upward and inward of the projection for a desired camming coaction with a locking element IS.

The locking element I9 is pivotally mounted within the base to rock in a lateral plane. Directly beneath the center of each column the base wall 3 has a downwardly projecting boss 20. The latter has a cylindrical periphery forming a journal for the locking element. Said element is in the present instance a flat metal member. It has a disk-like body portion and three radial locking tongues equally spaced angularly around the disk portion. One of these tongues, designated 2|, is elongated to provide an operating handle. The other two locking tongues 22 are materially shorter. The disk portion has a central bearing aperture receiving the journal boss 20. The locking tongues all project radially beyond the anchoring tongues or keepers l6 and they are so disposed that by swinging the locking element in one direction its tongues will enter the keeper recesses ll, ride up the sloping edges l6 and, by camming action, pull the column downward and hold the lower edge thereof, between its keepers, in firm, even abutment upon the base. Each column is secured to the base in this manner.

The lamp 3 in each column is mounted upon the base independently of the column so that the column may be removed from the base and leave the lamp exposed upon the base for access. The lamp mounting includes an upright socket member 23 into which the plug end of the lamp is screwed in the usual manner. A supporting yoke 24 of substantially U shape straddles the lower end of the socket member and is screw-fastened to the opposite sides thereof. Beneath the socket member said yoke has a central annular portion or collar 25 internally screw threaded. The wall 6 of the base and each journal boss 20 within the base has a vertical bore 26 leading from the interior of the base to the interior of the column. Said bore is eccentrically located in the boss 20, being laterally offset from the slotted side of the column. A

tubular member or bushing 21 has a shank portion projected upward through the bore 26 into the column. The upper end of the shank has an external screw thread screw-engaged with the threaded collar 25. The lower end of the shank has a fiat head abutting the boss 20 and overhanging it to engage the locking element l9 and retain it upon the boss. By screwing rotation of the bushing the collar is drawn down tightly against the base wall 8 to firmly support the lamp socket. The lateral offset of the bore 26 and the bushing 21 disposes the socket and lamp clear of the adjacent end of the dial panel 6.

The dial panel is a rectangular, transparent or translucent glass plate. The front face of the plate is fiat and smooth. The rear face has areas roughened by etching, sandblasting or otherwise. Said roughened areas include a rather large central field area 28, small areas 29 defining hour numbers and narrow areas 30 defining dialboundaries and minute indications. To all of these roughened areas there is applied a coating 3| of silvering. The remaining areas of the rear face are smooth and parallel to the front face of the plate. The rear face area surrounding the central field area 23 and containing the hour indications is smooth between and around said indications and bears a coating 32 of silvering, making a flat mirror of said area. The surrounding margin of the plate is fiat and smooth at both faces and is transparent.

The clock motor casing 6 is supported on the base by a hollow pedestal 33 integral with or secured to the body of the casing. Screws 34 inserted upward from within the base detachably secure the pedestal to the base. The motor casing so supported in turn provides a central support for the dial panel. The latter has a central aperture into which is fitted a bushing 33 headed at its outer end to bear against the outer face of the panel. The inner end of the bushing is threaded and screwed into a threaded bore in the front wall of the casing 6. The panel is also supported near the lower ends of the columns 2. Its opposite side edges project into the columns through the slots 4 and near the lower end of each slot there is a compressible rubber projection 36 to engage the lower edge of the panel. The rubber projection has a shank portion fitted into a socket 31 in the annular base flange Ill.

Said socket is formed in an enlargement 38 of said fiange, accommodated in the lower end of the column slot. Bushing 36 and the rubber rests 36 provide a three-point support for the panel, with the three points in triangular arrangement. The column slots extend longitudinally above and below the panel side edges received therein and the panel is unsecured to the columns. The upper edge and the side edges of the panel are free and the lower edge rests upon the compressible and resilient supports. Thereby the panel is permitted to expand and contract without strain.

The column slots 4 are materially wider than the thickness of the panel 5 whose edges project into the slots. Preferably the forward edge of each slot is disposed in contact with the front face margin of the panel and the rear edge of the slot is spaced away from the rear face margin of the panel to vent the interior of the column. The slot, the anchoring projections l6 on the lower ends of the column, and the base apertures I5 are correlated to position the slot 4 in the described relation to the panel when said projections are inserted through the apertures l5 and locked by the element l8. Between the apertures ii the base has arcuate apertures 39 placing the interior of the base in ventilating communication with the interior of the column. Air from the under side of the base enters the base past the cutaway corners of the closure plate I 2, flows upward through the apertures 39 into the column and past the lamp 3 and escapes through the elongated clearance space afforded by the slot 4 back of the panel 6. Thereby heat from the lamp is discharged at the rear face of the panel.

As previously mentioned the bottom closure plate l2, when disposed against its seat I3 is held against lateral shift in any direction by the surrounding edge of the base flange 9. The seated plate and the locking elements I 9 are made to serve for holding each other in position. That is, to hold the plate upon its seat and hold the locking elements in looking position for holding the columns to the base. For that purpose the plate l2 has two screw apertures 40 and the handle 2| of each locking element is thickened at its outer end and provided with a downwardly opening screw aperture 4|. The plate apertures 40 are so disposed with relation to the apertures 41 that when the locking elements are swung to full locking position the apertures 40 and 4| will be in register. Screws 42 are then inserted upward through the apertures 40 and screwed into apertures 4|. Said screws have heads to bear against the under side of the plate i2. Thereby, since the locking elements are retained against downward displacement by the heads of the bushing 21, and the plate I2 is secured to the locking elements, the plate is held to its seat l3. At the same time, since the plate is held against lateral shift and is secured to the locking elements, the latter are held in locking position.

The pedestal 33 of the clock motor casing is hollow and open at its under side. An aperture 43 in the upper wall 8 of the base registers with the open under side of the pedestal and the pedestal 33 has a rear aperture 44. Circuit feed wires enter thehollow pedestal through the aperture 44. Thence connections from said wires lead upward to the clock motor to operate it, andother wire connections 46 lead downwardly, laterally through the hollow base and upward through the bushings 21 to the lamp sockets to provide the lamps with current. A switch 41 to control the lamp current is mounted within the pedestal 33 and has an operating knob projecting rearward from the pedestal. The wiring for the clock, the lamps and the switch is indicated only generally. It is deemed unnecessary to illustrate it in detail.

The various parts of the device are designed and arranged to co-operate for proper functioning. The parts are also designed for arrangement and inter-connection in a manner to produce an assembly having a finished, attractive appearance. The means rendering the lamps accessible are fully concealed and all fasteningmeans are concealed as much as possible so that they will not mar the appearance of the device.

For access to the lamps 3 the screws 42 are first withdrawn and the bottom closure plate i2 is removed. The locking elements l8 are then swung to release the column keeper projection I 6, the unlocking swing of the locking elements being limited by contact of the handles thereof with fixed stops 48 borne by the base. The released columns may then be withdrawn upward from the base, leaving the independently mounted lamps, together with the rest of the assembly. If it be required to remove the lamp socket members 23 the threaded bushings 21 are withdrawn from the threaded collars 25 of the supporting yokes 24 of said members, thereby releasing the socket members from the base.

Features of the present device disclosed but not claimed are claimed in my co-pending patent application, Serial No. 9,605, filed March 6, 1935 and in my co-pending application, Serial No. 28,417, filed June 26, 1935.

What I claim is:

1. A device of the type set forth, comprising a base; a pair of transversely spaced hollow columns borne by said base and each having a longitudinal slot in its side opposed to the other column; a lamp within each column; a panel of transparent material and of the type set forth extending between the columns and having its opposite side edges exposed to the interior of the columns for reception of light rays from the lamps; a releasable securing connection between each column and the base comprising a tongue borne by and projecting longitudinally from the lower end of the column, the base having an aperture through which said tongue projects to the under side of the base and positions the column with its slot disposed in proper relation to the adjacent edge of said panel, the tongue having a keeper recess opening laterally at the under side of the base, and releasable locking means at the under side of the base to engage in said recess; and mountings for said lamps to support them on the base independently of the columns, for access to the lamps by removal of the columns from the base.

2. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the base is apertured for admission of air from its under side into the lower end of each column and the said slot in each column affords clearance past the adjacent edge of the said panel for escape of air fromthe column.

3. A device of the type set forth, comprising a base including a hollow body open at its under side; a removable bottom plate extending across the open under side of the base, the base having abutments for the edges of said plate to hold I the plate against lateral shift; a hollow column borne by the body of the base andhaving a longitudinal slot in one side; alamp within the column; a panel of transparent material and of the typeset forth supported with an edge thereof exposed to the interior of the column for reception of rays from the lamp; 9, releasable securing connection between the column and the base comprising a tongue borne by and projecting from the lower end of the column, the base having an aperture through which said tongue projects into the interior of the base and positions the column with its slot disposed in proper relation to said panel, and the tongue having a keeper recess opening laterally within the base body, and a locking element, pivotally supported and retained within the base body for lateral rocking to lock-- ably engage it in said keeper recess and to release it therefrom; a releasable fastening element to secure together the bottom plate and said locking element to hold the plate in place and hold the locking element against release from the keeper recess; and a mounting for said lamp to support it on the base independently of the column, for

access to the lamp by removal of the column from the base.

4. A device according to claim 3, characterized in that for themounting of the lamp the base has a bore extending along the pivot axis of the locking element and leading from the interior of the base to the interior of the lower end of the column, a fastening element extends longitudinally through said bore and has a screw thread disposed within the column and a head disposed within the base to engage and retain the locking element to the base and there is a lamp socket member within the column having a screw thread screw-engaged with the screw thread on said headed fastening element, whereby said socket and locking element are both retained in place by said fastening element.

5. A device of the type set forth, comprising a hollow base open at its under side; a bottom closure plate extending across the open under side of the base and held against lateral shift relatively to the base; a hollow column removably borne by the base and having a longitudinal slot in one side thereof a lamp within the column; a panel of transparent material and of the type set forth supported with one of its edges exposed to the interior of the column through said slot; a releasable securing connection between the column and the base comprising a keeper projection borne by the lower end of the column and removably penetrating the base to the interior of the base and a locking element shiftably mounted and retained within the base and lockably engageable with said keeper projection by shift in one direction and releasable from the projection by shift in another direction; and a releasable fastening element to secure together said bottom closure plate and said locking element to hold the plate in-place and hold the locking element in locking position.

6. A device of the type set forth, comprising a base; a pair of transversely spaced hollow columns borne by said base and each having a longitudinal slot in its side opposed to the other column; a lamp within each column; a panel of transparent material and of the type set forth extending between the columns and having its opposite side edges exposed to the interior of the columns for reception of light rays from the lamps; and a releasable securing connection between each column and the base comprising a tongue borne by and projecting longitudinally from the lower end of the column, the base having an aperture through which said tongue projects to the under side of the base and positions the column with its slot disposed in proper relation to the adjacent edge oi said panel, the tongue having a keeper recess opening laterally at the under side 01' the base, and releasable locking means at the under side of the base to engage in said recess.

7. A device of the type set forth, comprising a base; a pair of transversely spaced hollow columns borne by said base and each having a longitudinal slot in its side opposed to the other column; a lamp"within each column; a panel of transparent materialv and o! the type set forth extending between the columns and having its opposite side edges extending into said slots forconnection with the panel at a central point in theareaofthepaneltosupporttheweightoi' the latter and hold it in a position with its side edge margins disposed at the forward edges oi! the column slots, with the excess width'ot the slots at the rear of the panel, to vent the columns at the rear of the panel; and. compressible and resilient supports for the lower edge of the panel, located at the lower ends oi the column slots, the side edges and the upper edge oi the panel being unsecured and the lower edge being yieldably supported by said compressible supports, whereby the panel may expand and contract in all directions from its central point of support.

8. A device of the type set forth, comprising a base; a pair of transversely spaced hollow columns borne by said base and each having a longitudinal slot in its side opposed to the other column; a lamp within each column: a panel of transparent material and of the type set forth extending between the columns and having its opposite side edges extending into said slots for reception of light rays from the lamps, the slots extending longitudinally above and below said edges; a support for the panel borne by the base and having a supporting connection with the panel at a central point in the area of the panel to support the weight of the latter; and

compressible and resilient supporting means for 

